AWARDS:


Billboard number 1 - Top 100 Albums: Jaheim "Ghetto Classics"
Billboard number 1 - Dance single: Kristine W (RCA) - "STRONGER"

Barbados Music Awards 2007
- Best alternative song "Beautiful Surprise"
- Best new alternative artist: Philip7

International Soca Awards 2006
- Best New artist (female); Olivia Waithe
- Best Female Vocal: Olivia Waithe
- Best New Artist (female): Che'Nelle

Caribbean Achievement Award
- Producer of the Year

Canadian Urban Music Award
- Producer of the Year – Nomination (2004)
- Album of the Year - Ivana Snatilli (1999)
- Best R&B Single/ Female – Belinda

Certified Platinum
- Pokemon Soundtrack 2x platinum - US
- Kalan Porter (Canadian Idol 2004) 2x platinum - Canada
- Ryan Malcolm (Canadian Idol 2003) - Canada

Certified Gold
- Robyn – single "Do You Know What it Takes" - US
- Blue Streak Soundtrack – Kelli Price - US
- Keshia Chante Lp 'Unpredictable' 2004 - Canada
- Keshia Chante Single 'Unpredictable' 2004 - Canada

Juno Award
- Best R&B Recording – Keshia Chante (2005)
- Best R&B Recording – In Essence (2004)
- Best RAP Recording - TBTBT
- Best RAP Recording - Devon
- Best R&B Recording - Rupert Gayle

Juno Award Nomination
- Best Reggae Recording – Lenny
- Best Reggae Recording – Belinda
- Best Dance Recording - Oval Emotion

Can Pro Award
- Best Children's Programming
"Adventures in Evergreen Forest"



PRESS:

July4, 2006: Feature article in the DAILY NEWS (St Thomas, US Virgin Islands) written by Ayesha Morris.

http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_features?id=17593145


If the link doesn't work, here's the article:


Getting the word out
Rising music producer with St. Thomas roots working to get play for Caribbean

By AYESHA MORRIS
Tuesday, July 4th 2006


Weekend barbecues with Ginuwine. Heart to hearts with Ru Paul. And danceable tracks rising from the Pokemon soundtrack. At 38, music producer Derek Brin said that the more he rolls in celebrity circles, the closer he feels to his Caribbean roots. Now, he wants to give back.

"My life itself has turned into a learning process. The funny thing is, the more success I get, the more I appreciate my culture, my family and where I came from," he said.

Brin was born in Canada, came as an infant to live on St. Thomas until he was four, then moved back to Canada.

His parents are V.I. Port Authority Executive Director Darlan Brin and Marion Bernadine of Trinidad. He has an older brother, David, who grew up here.

Early on, his musical influences included jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock and funk.

He studied music, computers and Latin at De La Salle College, an all boys private school in Canada.

Later, Brin studied drums and piano at the Conservatory of Music and in the school's music band, before moving on to the music program at Humber College, where he focused on piano.

He also attended the University of Toronto to do a double major in law and accounting and finance.

A television production company hired Brin to write music for their in-house shows, and he would score themes and background music for nature documentaries and other shows.

That launched his work composing music for 30 different television shows over the course of seven years.

In 1996, Brin started his own company, Fierce Music Entertainment, which included mixing and remixing, developing artists and producing cross-over Caribbean sounds. Brin also does sound engineering and builds, designs and consults on music studios. With his partner, Gary Serrao, the company has built studios in St. Vincent and Barbados.

His work is featured on Soca Gold 1999, with songs including "Stamina" by Ramses and "Pedal Pusher" by Rupee. Other work includes "Malibu Massive Hits" in 1999 and "My Man Dat," a blend of Jamaican dancehall and rhythm and blues.

To date, Brin has produced music for Diane Warren, Celine Dion, Jaheim, Kelly Price and the Pokemon soundtrack. Three of his songs are expected to be released on the soundtrack of "Save the Last Dance II," coming out on DVD too.

He is also a founder and member of six-year-old soca band Neu Jenarashun, which backs up artists like David Rudder, Rupee and Machel Montano.

One of his latest projects is putting together a soca compilation for Barbados' Cropover festival.

He is also looking for new talent in the Virgin Islands and throughout the Caribbean to develop on a new site, i-caribbeantunes.com, and to collaborate with mainstream artists.

The site will be similar to musicfreedom.com and will allow artists to create a profile and network internationally like myspace.com. They will also be able to upload their music and sell mp3 downloads or mastered CDs in order to start earning royalties, he said.

"If an artist can't press a CD or only has one or two songs, iCaribbeanTunes will press a CD per request or create a compilation CD of multiple artists if people want to purchase it that way," he said. "This gives the artist a vehicle to get their product sold."

The website will be specifically geared to artists from the Caribbean and Latin America, who he said are underrepresented.

"I want to try to help them think globally," Brin said.

"It's about the voice and the performer. I'm looking for someone with talent, ambition and who knows music is not an easy thing. Spoiled artists are the hardest to work with."

Earlier this year, Brin signed a three-year contract with Ole Media Management, one of Canada's largest independent music publishers.

Brin said one of his most humbling experiences was working with mega producer Guy Roche, who was producing a song written by Diane Warren for the Pokemon Soundtrack.

"My manager sent me there as a programmer, which basically means I replay all the music and drums for an existing song but with my flavor and funk to it," Brin said. "I'd been producing records for years so I thought I was ready to produce the song, but as I spent days with Guy Roche and started to learn his system and worked with Diane Warren, I started to feel like a student and ended up learning so much and feeling blessed for the opportunity."

Brin said he does not let the attention get to his head.

"Humbling my attitude allowed me to grow and become one of the big boys," he said. "Regardless of my success, I remain open-minded to learn from others, accept change and never assume I know everything."

Eventually he hopes to win a Grammy and have a large steel band from the Caribbean such as the Rising Stars with him as he goes to accept the award.

"Similar to Kanye West's performance last year at the Grammys with a marching band," he said. "Just imagine 200 plus kids lickin' pan at the Grammy's walking through the aisles to the stage."

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/DerekBrin or www.myspace.com/icaribbeantunes.

- Contact Ayesha Morris at 774-8772 ext. 302 or e-mail amorris@dailynews.vi.